Oil/Gas Burners and Method

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems of burning waste effluent include a burner apparatus having a manifold assembly with an inlet, a first outlet, a second outlet, and a first control valve movable between a first and second position. The burner apparatus also includes a first burner head assembly fluidly communicating with the first outlet and a second burner head assembly fluidly communicating with the second outlet. The first control valve is selectively controllable to direct a combustible mixture to the first burner head assembly when in the first position and to the first and second burner head assembly when in the second position.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

This disclosure relates to burners and more particularly to oil and gasburners that may be used in the oil field industry.

2. Description of the Related Art

Hydrocarbons are widely used as a primary source of energy, and have agreat impact on the world economy. Consequently, the discovery andefficient production of hydrocarbon resources is increasinglynoteworthy. As relatively accessible hydrocarbon deposits are depleted,hydrocarbon prospecting and production has expanded to new regions thatmay be more difficult to reach and/or may pose new technologicalchallenges. During typical operations, a borehole is drilled into theearth, whether on land or below the sea, to reach a reservoir containinghydrocarbons. Such hydrocarbons are typically in the form of oil, gas,or mixtures thereof which may then be brought to the surface through theborehole.

Well testing is often performed to help evaluate the possible productionvalue of a reservoir. During well testing, a test well is drilled toproduce a test flow of fluid from the reservoir. During the test flow,parameters such as fluid pressure and fluid flow rate are monitored overa period of time. The response of those parameters may be determinedduring various types of well tests, such as pressure drawdown,interference, reservoir limit tests, and other tests generally known bythose skilled in the art. The data collected during well testing may beused to assess the economic viability of the reservoir. The costsassociated with performing the testing operations may be substantial,however, and therefore testing operations should be performed asefficiently and economically as possible.

Fluids produced from the test well are generally considered to be wasteand therefore are typically disposed of by burning, which raisesenvironmental and safety concerns. Conventionally, the fluids areseparated into gas and liquids inside a separator vessel, then burnedusing one of three types of burners: 1) an oil burner for liquid phasethat will mix crude oil and air for a good combustion, 2) a gas flarethat will directly burn the dry gas, and 3) a multiphase burner that canburn both phases simultaneously within certain limits.

Burners are designed to combust waste effluent at a maximum flow ratewhich corresponds to its burning capacity. The waste effluent alsotypically should be provided at a much lower flow rate to test the wellunder any conditions. A burner's operational range of flow rates iscalled a turndown ratio, which is defined as a ratio of its maximum flowrate capacity to its minimum flow rate capacity. Burners typically donot exceed a turndown ratio of 5. If the flow rate of waste effluentwere decreased below that limit, the combustion would no longer beacceptable. When the waste effluent flow rate drops below the minimumflow rate, a condition known as “fall out” may occur during which thehydrocarbon-containing waste effluent is not combusted but instead isdischarged into the surrounding environment.

Well testing implies very large variations of flow rates because wellscan be very different from one another. The well test burner should beadapted to that large range of flow rates during well testing, but islimited by its turndown ratio. To account for large fluctuations ineffluent flow rates, the current practice is to provide at the well testsite a set of separate burners having different sizes and burningcapacities. For example, gas flares having various diameters may belocated at the well test site in anticipation and preparation of largewaste gas effluent flow rate fluctuations. Another example is an oilburner composed of a set of identical nozzles, where several nozzles canbe replaced by plugs in order to reduce the flow rate characteristics ofthe burner. Based on the estimated maximum and minimum waste effluentflow rates, which may be difficult to predict, the operator will thenselect and assemble the most appropriate burner before beginning thewell test in order to optimize the combustion and withstand the maximumand minimum forecasted flow rates.

In those situations, the well test operator will select the appropriateburner according to the estimated maximum and/or minimum flow rate ofthe specific well subjected to a well test. During a well test, however,flow rates may greatly vary, so there will be some phases with low flowrates with non-optimized combustion or even no combustion, which is alsoenvironmentally unfriendly and potentially hazardous to the operators.When those situations arise, the operators shut down the well test, waitfor associated equipment to cool off, modify the burner currently usedto account for the changing flow rates or even exchange the burnercurrently used with a different burner altogether that is more suitableto the current flow rate from the well. After the operators havemodified or replaced the burner, they then restart the well test. Theseinterruptions may result in lengthy delays lasting several hours to evendays.

SUMMARY

Certain aspects of some embodiments disclosed herein are set forthbelow. It should be understood that these aspects are presented merelyto provide the reader with a brief summary of certain forms theembodiments might take and that these aspects are not intended to limitthe scope of the disclosure. Indeed, the disclosure may encompass avariety of aspects that may not be set forth below.

In some embodiments, a burner apparatus includes a manifold assemblyhaving an inlet, a first outlet, a second outlet, and a first controlvalve movable between a first and second position. The burner apparatusalso includes a first burner head assembly fluidly communicating withthe first outlet and a second burner head assembly fluidly communicatingwith the second outlet. The first control valve is selectivelycontrollable to direct a combustible mixture to the first burner headassembly when in the first position and to the first and second burnerhead assembly when in the second position.

In some embodiments, a system for burning waste effluent containinghydrocarbons includes a waste effluent conduit fluidly communicatingwith a source of waste effluent and a manifold assembly fluidlycommunicating with the waste effluent conduit. The manifold assemblyincludes an inlet, a first outlet, a second outlet, and a first controlvalve movable between a first and a second position. The system alsoincludes a pilot configured to generate a pilot flame, a first burnerhead assembly fluidly communicating with the first outlet, and a secondburner head assembly fluidly communicating with the second outlet. Thefirst control valve is selectively controllable to direct the wasteeffluent to the first burner head assembly when the first control valveis in the first position and to the first and second burner headassembly when the first control valve is in a second position.

In some embodiments, a method for burning a waste effluent containinghydrocarbons produced from a well during a well test includes starting awell test, producing a waste effluent containing hydrocarbons from thewell at an initial flow rate, and directing the waste effluent to aburner apparatus. The burner apparatus includes a manifold assemblyhousing a first control valve movable between a first and a secondposition and a first and second burner head assembly fluidlycommunicating with the manifold assembly. The first control valve isselectively controllable to direct the waste effluent to the firstburner head assembly when the first control valve is in the firstposition and to the first and second burner head assembly when the firstcontrol valve is in the second position. The method also includesburning the waste effluent with the first burner head assembly when thefirst control valve is in the first position and monitoring the flowrate of the waste effluent produced from the well to determine if thewaste effluent flow rate will surpass a burning capacity of the firstburner head assembly. The method further includes burning the wasteeffluent with both the first and second burner head assembly when theflow rate surpasses the burning capacity of the first burner headassembly without stopping production of the waste effluent from thewell.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

So that the manner in which the above recited features can be understoodin detail, a more particular understanding may be had when the followingdetailed description is read with reference to certain embodiments, someof which are illustrated in the appended drawings in which likecharacters represent like parts throughout the drawings. It is to benoted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only someembodiments and are therefore not to be considered limiting of itsscope, and may admit to other equally effective embodiments.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a burner apparatus according to someembodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 2A shows a schematic view of a burner apparatus according to someembodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 2B shows a frontal view the embodiment shown in FIG. 2A.

FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of a burner apparatus using a singleburner head assembly according to some embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view of the burner apparatus in FIG. 3Ausing two burner head assemblies according to some embodiments of thedisclosure.

FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of a burner apparatus according tosome embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional view of the burner apparatus in FIG. 4Aaccording to some embodiments of the disclosure.

FIGS. 7A and 7B show a cross-sectional view of piston control systemaccording to some embodiments of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Methods and apparatus are disclosed herein for combusting waste effluentgenerated by well testing, oil spill cleanup, or other operations. Theterm “waste effluent” is intended to encompass any fluid having ahydrocarbon content capable of being disposed of by combustion. Thewaste effluent may include a liquid hydrocarbon content (such as oil), agas hydrocarbon content (such as methane), and non-hydrocarboncontaining content (such as seawater), thus forming a combustiblemixture. Other fluids and solids may also potentially be part of thewaste effluent, some of which will be separated from the waste effluentin a separator tank before combusting the waste effluent. Still, thewaste effluent sent to the burner apparatus for combustion may includesome of the other fluids and solids. The waste effluent may be obtainedfrom effluent from a supply line formed during well testing operations,oil-water mixtures created during an oil spill cleanup, or othersources.

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a burner apparatus 20 for combustingwaste effluent having a hydrocarbon content. A waste effluent conduit,such as main burner pipe 26, is coupled to a burner apparatus 20 so thatthe main burner pipe 26 fluidly communicates with the main burnerapparatus 20. Accordingly, waste effluent communicated from a source 25of waste effluent will pass into the main burner pipe 26 and to theburner apparatus 20. The source 25 may be a separator tank or the wellhead itself.

The burner apparatus 20 includes a manifold assembly 30 for directingthe waste effluent to one or more burner head assemblies 42, 44 in fluidcommunication with the manifold assembly 30. The burner head assemblies42, 44 may discharge the waste effluent in a pattern suitable forcombustion by open flame. The manifold assembly 30 has a first inlet 31and multiple outlets 32, 34, 36. The first inlet 31 fluidly communicateswith the main burner pipe 26 for directing the waste effluent to themanifold assembly 30 and to a first control valve 35 housed within themanifold assembly 30. The first control valve 35 is movable between afirst position and a second position, as will be shown and described inmore detail in FIGS. 3-6. A first burner head assembly 42 fluidlycommunicates with a first outlet 32 of the manifold assembly 30. Asecond burner head assembly 44 fluidly communicates with a second outlet34 and in some embodiments with a third outlet 36. As will besubsequently described, the first control valve 35 is movable between afirst (closed) position which blocks fluid communication between thewaste effluent conduit and the second burner head assembly 44, and asecond (open) position, which permits fluid communication between thewaste effluent conduit and the second burner head assembly 44. Theburner head assemblies may have the same or different burningcapacities. Burning capacity, as used herein, refers to the maximumvolumetric flow rate the burner head assembly can combust, which may bemeasured in barrels per day (BOPD) for liquid, million standard cubicfeet per day (MMSCFD), or other similar volumetric flow rate units.

The burner apparatus 20 provides burner head assemblies 42, 44 thatshare the same inlet 31 via a manifold assembly 30 having one or severalcontrol valves to select the burner assembly to be used during theburning operation. The control valve(s) may be remotely controlled withan electric, pneumatic, or hydraulic control system. By selectingdifferent sizes of burner assemblies, the result is a wide-range burningcapacity combustion system that can ensure good burning regardless offluctuations in flow rates, thereby preventing fall out or otherenvironmental concerns when combusting waste effluent when performing awell test.

The first control valve 35 is selectively controllable to direct thewaste effluent, a combustible mixture, to the first burner head assembly42 when the control valve 35 is in the first position and to the firstand second burner head assemblies 42, 44 when it is in the secondposition as will be shown in more detail in FIGS. 3-6. In someembodiments, the first and second burner head assemblies 42, 44 arepositioned concentric with each other, while in other embodiments theburner head assemblies 42, 44 are positioned non-coaxially aligned witheach such as schematically shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B.

FIG. 2A shows a schematic view of a burner apparatus 120 according tosome embodiments and FIG. 2B shows a frontal view the embodiment shownin FIG. 2A. The manifold assembly 130 of burner apparatus 120 includesan inlet 131 and three outlets 132, 134, and 136. The manifold assembly130 houses a selectively controllable control valve 135 for directingeffluent waste to a first burner head assembly 142 fluidly communicatingwith the first outlet 132, a second burner head assembly 144 fluidlycommunicating with the second outlet 134, third burner head assembly 136fluidly communicating with the third outlet 136. The three burner headassemblies 142, 144, and 146 may be positioned in a triangular pattern125 proximate the manifold assembly 120 as shown in FIG. 2B. The controlvalve 135 is movable between a first, second, and third position. Thecontrol valve 135 directs waste effluent to one of the burner headassemblies when it is in the first position, to two of the burner headassemblies when in the second position, and to the three burner headassemblies 142, 144, 146 when it is in the third position. Whether usingburning apparatuses as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 or the those shown in anyof other FIGS., well test operators are able to quickly change the flowof waste effluent to the different burner head assemblies in real-timeas the waste effluent flow rate fluctuates during a well test andwithout stopping the well test.

Turning to FIGS. 3-6, a burning apparatus 320 is shown where the firstburner head assembly 42 may be a central burner 342 and the secondburner head assembly 44 may be a large annular burner 344 in someembodiments. The central burner 342 may be a flare type burner and thelarge annular burner 344 may be a coanda type burner. In someembodiments, the large annular burner 344 may have a second burningcapacity greater than a first burning capacity of the central burner342. The burner apparatus also includes a pilot system for initiatingflame. In the illustrated embodiment, the pilot system includes a pilot345. More pilots (not shown) may also be used with the burner apparatusas desired. The pilot 345 fluidly communicates with a pilot pipe 346.The pilot pipe 346, in turn, fluidly communicates with a pilot fuelsource, which may be obtained from or independently of the wasteeffluent. An electric igniter (not shown), usually a high voltage sourcegenerating sparks, can be used to initiate the pilot flame.

In some embodiments, the first control valve 335 is a piston 333 housedwithin a manifold assembly 330. The piston 333 together with themanifold assembly 330 form a first chamber 338 and a second chamber 339within the manifold assembly 330. A piston control system 700 as shownin FIGS. 7A and 7B may be used to selectively control and move thepiston 333. The manifold assembly 330 forms an annular path 337 around aportion of the manifold assembly and/or a portion of the central burner342 that fluidly communicates with the second annular outlets 334, 336.The manifold assembly 330 may include two sub-housings 329 and 331coupled together and enclosing portions of the piston 333. A basesub-housing 329 together with the piston may form the first chamber 338.The second chamber 339 may be formed by the piston 333, the basesub-housing 329, and the top sub-housing 331. A top sub-housing 331together with portions of the manifold assembly 330 and the centralburner 342 may form the annular path 337.

The piston 333 is movable and selectively controllable between a first(closed) position 350 and a second (open) position 450, such that whenthe piston 333 is in the first position 350 as shown in FIG. 3, thewaste effluent flows solely to the first burner head assembly, such ascentral burner 342, via inlet 327 as indicated by arrows 355. When thepiston 333 is in the second position 450 as shown in FIG. 4, the wasteeffluent flows to both first burner head assembly, such as centralburner 342, through the annular path 337 and to the second burner headassembly, such as large annular burner 344, as indicated by arrows 455.As the piston 333 slides open, a passageway 452 formed in either themanifold assembly 330 and/or a central flow conduit of the centralburner 342 opens to the annular path 337 so that the waste effluent mayflow to the large annular burner 344. The piston 333 can be remotelycontrolled using the piston control system 700 to open and close theannular path 337 to the large annular burner 344. This design may alsoprovide a robust burning apparatus having light packaging that iscompact and easily transportable and assembled.

FIG. 7A illustrates a piston control system 700 according to someembodiments of the disclosure and a partial cut away view of the burningapparatus 320, valve manifold assembly 330, and piston 333 controlled bythe piston control system 700. The piston control system 700 has apressurized fluid supply line 760 for supplying pressurized fluid to thesystem 700. Instruments and control tools that may be provided along thesupply line 760 include an isolation valve 765, a pressure gauge 770,and a filter 775. A first inlet line 761 fluidly communicates with thefirst chamber 338 and the pressurized fluid supply line 760. Similarly,a second inlet line 762 fluidly communicates with the second chamber 339and the pressurized fluid supply line 760. The first inlet line 761supplies pressurized fluid 738 to the first chamber 338 and the secondinlet line 762 supplies pressurized fluid 739 to the second chamber 339(FIGS. 3-4). Thus, the piston control system 700 also includespressurized fluid in the first and second chambers 338, 339.

A pressure regulator 780, a check valve 785, and a pressure gauge 790may be positioned along the second inlet line 762 such that constantpressure is provided to the second chamber 339 causing the piston 333 tobe in the second position 450 by default. The pressure regulator 780 maygenerate a permanent intermediate pressure in the second chamber 339.The pressure regulator 780 can be set to deliver half of the inletpressure so that it maintains a P/2 at any time in the second chamber339. That pressure can push the piston to the open position (towards theleft as shown in FIGS. 3-6). When the pressure P is applied to the inlet764 of pressurized fluid supply line 760, the fluid pressurizes thefirst chamber 338. The piston 333 is subjected to a differentialpressure of P−P/2, so it will be pushed to the closed position (towardsthe right as shown in FIGS. 3-6). The piston control system 700 mayremotely control the manifold assembly 330 from a single pressurizedfluid supply line 760. This design simplifies the piping all along theboom that supports the burner. Also, the control panel for the operatorcan be very simple: a simple valve can be used to pressurize orbleed-off the unique supply line 760. Finally, the system becomes afailsafe: in case of leak in the supply line or lack of pressure (emptygas bottle), the manifold will automatically switch to the safe positionfor the largest waste effluent flow rate.

In another embodiment, the piston control system may simply be twopressurized fluid supply lines directly to the first and second chambers338, 339 as shown in FIG. 7B and discussed below. In that case thecontrol panel for the operator will be composed of two valves topressurize or bleed off separately the two lines.

The piston 333 may slide between open and closed positions using amoderate pressure differential, such as a few bars. That pressure can beprovided by a pressurized fluid, such as oil or water, or compressed airor nitrogen. Nitrogen may be a beneficial choice as it increases thesafety of the burning apparatus should a leak occur as nitrogen is notcombustible unlike oxygen. Some benefits the piston control system 700may provide include use of one pressurized fluid inlet, therebydecreasing the cost of pressurized fluids involved for operating theburning apparatus and a simplified control panel and piping. Otherbenefits may include that some pressure trapped into the second chamber339 will act as a spring to make a fail-safe system. In the absence ofany operator or controller commands, the piston will remain open to bothburner head assemblies, allowing any flow rate for safety. The systemshown also allows low flow rate combustion through the central burner342 alone and high flow rate combustion through both burners when thepiston 333 opens the annular path 337. The burner apparatus may have aturndown ratio greater than 10 and as high as 20, or anywhere betweenthose ranges.

Turning to FIGS. 5-6, some embodiments of a burning apparatus 520 mayhouse a second control valve 535 that is movable between an open and aclosed position such that when the first control valve 335 is in thesecond (open) position and the second control valve 535 is in the closedposition (FIG. 6), the second control valve 535 blocks the wasteeffluent from flowing through the first outlet 332 to the first burnerhead assembly 42, such as central burner 342. That is, the secondcontrol valve 535 is movable between a closed position which blocksfluid communication between the waste effluent and the first burner headassembly, such as central burner 342, and an open position, whichpermits fluid communication between the waste effluent conduit and thefirst burner head assembly, such as central burner 342. The secondcontrol valve 535 may be housed within the manifold assembly 330 orwithin part of the first burner head assembly, such as a shaft 500 ofcentral burner 342. The second control valve 535 may be a ball valveplaced in the central pathway of either the manifold assembly 330 or aportion of the central burner 342. The ball valve yoke may be linked tothe piston 333 to control opening and closing of the second controlvalve 535. In some embodiments, a second piston could be housed withinthe burning apparatus 520 and linked to the second control valve 535 inorder to independently control both the first and second control valves335, 535.

In view of the foregoing, systems and methods are provided for burningwaste effluent containing hydrocarbons, such as a waste effluentproduced from a well during a well test. The method includes initiatinga well test by the operators, producing a waste effluent containinghydrocarbons from the well at an initial flow rate, and directing thewaste effluent to a burner apparatus. The burner apparatus includes amanifold assembly housing a first control valve movable between a firstand second position and a first burner head assembly and a second burnerhead assembly fluidly communicating with the manifold assembly. Thefirst control valve is selectively controllable to direct the wasteeffluent to the first burner head assembly when the first control valveis in the first position and to the first and second burner headassemblies when the first control valve is in the second position.

The method also includes burning the waste effluent with the firstburner head assembly when the first control valve is in the firstposition. Further, the method includes monitoring the flow rate of thewaste effluent produced from the well to determine if the waste effluentflow rate will surpass a burning capacity of the first burner headassembly. If the flow rate does surpass the burning capacity of thefirst burner head assembly, the operators burn the waste effluent withboth the first and second burner head assemblies without stoppingproduction of the waste effluent from the well. The operators mayaccomplish this by moving the first control valve to the second positionwhile waste effluent flow continues unabated.

The method may also include monitoring the flow rate of the wasteeffluent to determine if the flow rate will be greater than the burningcapacity of the first burner head assembly but smaller than a burningcapacity of the second burner head assembly. If the operators observethat the flow rate surpasses the burning capacity of the first burnerhead assembly but not the second burner head assembly, then the wasteeffluent may be burned solely with the second burner head assemblywithout stopping production of the waste effluent from the well. Thismay be accomplished by moving a second control valve housed in themanifold assembly to a closed position, such that when the first controlvalve is in the second position and the second control valve is in theclosed position, the second control valve blocks the combustible mixturefrom flowing through the first outlet to the first burner head assembly.

As shown and described herein, some embodiments of the disclosureinclude a system for burning waste effluent containing hydrocarbons. Thesystem includes a waste effluent conduit 26 fluidly communicating with asource of waste effluent 25 and a manifold assembly 30 fluidlycommunicating with the waste effluent conduit 26. The manifold assembly30 has an inlet 31, a first outlet 32, a second outlet 34, and a firstcontrol valve 35. A pilot 345 is configured to generate a pilot flame toignite the waste effluent. A first burner head assembly 42 fluidlycommunicates with the first outlet 32, and a second burner head assembly44 fluidly communicates with the second outlet 34. The first controlvalve 35 is selectively controllable to direct the waste effluent to thefirst burner head assembly 42 when in a first position and to the firstand second burner head assemblies 42, 44 when in a second position.

In some embodiments the system for burning was effluent includes apiston control system 700 and the first valve 35 may be formed as apiston 333 disposed within a manifold assembly 340. The piston controlsystem 700 may be used to selectively control the piston 333. The piston333 together with the manifold assembly 330 form a first chamber 338 anda second chamber 339 within the manifold assembly 330. The manifoldassembly 330 forms an annular path 337 around the central burner 342that fluidly communicates with a second outlet 334 and a third outlet336.

Some embodiments of the system for burning waste effluent may include asecond control valve 335 housed within the burning apparatus 520. Thesecond control valve 335 has an open and a closed position such thatwhen the first control valve 335 is in the second position and thesecond control valve 535 is in the closed position (FIG. 6), the secondcontrol valve 535 blocks the waste effluent from flowing through thefirst outlet 332 to the first burner head assembly, such as centralburner 342.

Some embodiments of the system for burning waste effluent may alsoinclude a piston control system 700 that has a pressurized fluid supplyline 760 for supplying pressurized fluid to the system 700. A firstinlet line 761 fluidly communicates with the first chamber 338 and thepressurized fluid supply line 760. Similarly, a second inlet line 762fluidly communicates with the second chamber 339 and the pressurizedfluid supply line 760. The first inlet line 761 supplies pressurizedfluid 738 to the first chamber 338 and the second inlet line 762supplies pressurized fluid 739 to the second chamber 339. Thus, thepiston control system 700 also includes pressurized fluid in the firstand second chambers 338, 339. A pressure regulator 780, a check valve785, and a pressure gauge 790 may be positioned along the second inletline 762 such that constant pressure is provided to the second chamber339 causing the piston 333 to be in the second position by default. Thepressure regulator 780 may generate a permanent intermediate pressure inthe second chamber 339. FIG. 7B shows two lines in parallel each havingan isolation valve 765 which provides a simple, limited maintenancepiston control system.

Although the preceding description has been described herein withreference to particular means, materials and embodiments, it is notintended to be limited to the particulars disclosed herein; rather, itextends to all functionally equivalent structures, methods, and uses,such as are within the scope of the appended claims.

1. A burner apparatus, comprising: a manifold assembly, comprising: aninlet; a first outlet; a second outlet; and a first control valvemovable between a first position and a second position; a first burnerhead assembly fluidly communicating with the first outlet; and a secondburner head assembly fluidly communicating with the second outlet,wherein the first control valve is selectively controllable to direct acombustible mixture to the first burner head assembly when in the firstposition and to the first and second burner head assemblies when in thesecond position.
 2. The burner apparatus of claim 1, wherein the burnerapparatus has a turndown ratio greater than
 10. 3. The burner apparatusof claim 1, wherein the first and second burner head assemblies arepositioned concentric with each other.
 4. The burner apparatus of claim1, wherein the first and second head assemblies are positionednon-coaxially with each other.
 5. The burner apparatus of claim 1,further comprising: a third burner head assembly fluidly communicatingwith a third outlet of the manifold assembly, wherein the first, second,and third burner head assemblies are positioned in a triangular patternproximate the manifold assembly; and wherein the first control valvedirects the combustible mixture to the first, second, and third burnerhead assemblies when in a third position.
 6. The burner apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the first burner head assembly is a central burnerhaving a first burning capacity.
 7. The burner apparatus of claim 6,wherein the second burner head assembly is a large annular burner havinga second burning capacity greater than the first burning capacity. 8.The burner apparatus of claim 7, further comprising: a piston controlsystem; wherein the first control valve comprises a piston housed withinthe manifold assembly, the piston forming a first chamber and a secondchamber together with the manifold assembly; and wherein the manifoldassembly forms an annular path around the central burner that fluidlycommunicates with the second outlet.
 9. The burner apparatus of claim 8,wherein the piston is selectively controllable and movable between thefirst and second position, such that when the piston is in the firstposition, the combustible mixture flows solely to the first burner headassembly, and when the piston is in the second position, the combustiblemixture flows to the first burner head assembly and through the annularpath to the second burner head assembly.
 10. The burner apparatus ofclaim 9, wherein the burner apparatus further comprises: a secondcontrol valve movable between an open position and a closed positionsuch that when the first control valve is in the second position and thesecond control valve is in the closed position, the second control valveblocks the combustible mixture from flowing to the first burner headassembly.
 11. The burner apparatus of claim 8, wherein the pistoncontrol system comprises: a pressurized fluid supply line; a pressurizedfluid in the first chamber and the second chamber; a first inlet linefor supplying pressurized fluid to the first chamber, the first inletline fluidly communicating with the pressurized fluid supply line andthe first chamber; a second inlet line for supplying pressurized fluidto the second chamber, the second inlet line fluidly communicating withthe pressurized fluid supply line and the second chamber, wherein apressure regulator and a check valve are positioned along the secondinlet line such that constant pressure is provided to the second chambercausing the piston to, by default, be in the second position.
 12. Theburner apparatus of claim 8, wherein the piston control system isremotely controlled.
 13. A system for burning waste effluent containinghydrocarbons, the system comprising: a waste effluent conduit fluidlycommunicating with a source of waste effluent; a manifold assemblyfluidly communicating with the waste effluent conduit, the manifoldassembly comprising: an inlet; a first outlet; a second outlet; and afirst control valve movable between a first position and a secondposition; a pilot configured to generate a pilot flame; a first burnerhead assembly fluidly communicating with the first outlet; and a secondburner head assembly fluidly communicating with the second outlet,wherein the first control valve is selectively controllable to directthe waste effluent to the first burner head assembly when in the firstposition and to the first and second burner head assemblies when in thesecond position.
 14. The system of claim 13, further comprising: apiston control system; wherein the first control valve comprises apiston within the manifold assembly, the piston forming a first chamberand a second chamber within the manifold assembly; and wherein themanifold assembly forms an annular path around a portion of the secondburner assembly that fluidly communicates with the second outlet. 15.The system of claim 14, wherein the burner apparatus further comprises:a second control valve movable between an open position and a closedposition such that when the first control valve is in the secondposition and the second control valve is in the closed position, thesecond control valve blocks the waste effluent from flowing to the firstburner head assembly.
 16. The burner apparatus of claim 14, wherein thepiston control system comprises: a pressurized fluid supply line; apressurized fluid in the first and second chamber; a first inlet linefor supplying pressurized fluid to the first chamber, the first inletline fluidly communicating with the pressurized fluid supply line andthe first chamber; a second inlet line for supplying pressurized fluidto the second chamber, the second inlet line fluidly communicating withthe pressurized fluid supply line and the second chamber, wherein apressure regulator and a check valve are positioned along the secondinlet line such that constant pressure is provided to the second chambercausing the piston to, by default, be in the second position.
 17. Amethod of burning a waste effluent containing hydrocarbons produced froma well during a well test, the method comprising: initiating a welltest; producing a waste effluent containing hydrocarbons from the wellat an initial flow rate; directing the waste effluent to a burnerapparatus, the burner apparatus comprising: a manifold assembly housinga first control valve movable between a first position and a secondposition; and a first burner head assembly and a second burner headassembly fluidly communicating with the manifold assembly, wherein thefirst control valve is selectively controllable to direct the wasteeffluent to the first burner head assembly when the first control valveis in the first position and to the first and second burner headassembly when the first control valve is in the second position; burningthe waste effluent with the first burner head assembly when the firstcontrol valve is in the first position; monitoring the flow rate of thewaste effluent produced from the well to determine if the waste effluentflow rate will surpass a burning capacity of the first burner headassembly; burning the waste effluent with both the first and secondburner head assemblies when the flow rate surpasses the burning capacityof the first burner head assembly and without stopping production of thewaste effluent from the well.
 18. The method of claim 17, whereinburning the waste effluent with both the first and second burner headassemblies is accomplished by moving the first control valve to thesecond position.
 19. The method of claim 17, further comprising:monitoring the flow rate of the waste effluent to determine if the flowrate will be greater than the burning capacity of the first burner headassembly but smaller than a burning capacity of the second burner headassembly; and burning the waste effluent solely with the second burnerhead assembly when the flow rate surpasses the burning capacity of thefirst burner head assembly but not the second burner head assembly andwithout stopping production of the waste effluent from the well.
 20. Themethod of claim 19, wherein burning the waste effluent solely with thesecond burner head assembly is accomplished by moving a second controlvalve housed in the burner apparatus to a closed position, such thatwhen the first control valve is in the second position and the secondcontrol valve is in the closed position, the second control valve blocksthe waste effluent from flowing to the first burner head assembly.